Shark bites swimmer off popular San Onofre beach surfing spot

A swimmer was bitten by a shark off of Camp Pendleton’s San Onofre beach on Saturday evening.

The victim was airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, said Camp Pendleton Sgt. Asia Sorenson.

The incident was reported shortly before 6:30 p.m., Sorenson said. “We can confirm it was a shark bite, but the extent of injuries is unknown at this time,” Sorenson said.

The Orange County Register quoted a state park aide who said the victim was a female who was wading in the water near a surfing spot called Church near a campground. The aide, Travis Lara, said the woman was bitten “on her glute and down her thigh.”

This marks the second serious shark attack in the region. Last year, Maria Korcsmaros, a 52-year-old personal trainer and aerobics instructor from Corona, was severely bitten by a shark.

Korcsmaros had multiple tooth marks on her right side, extending from her shoulder in a semicircular pattern to her lower pelvis. She also had lacerations on her right arm, an open chest wound and multiple rib fractures and had lost about a liter of blood, doctors said.

Dibble writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

UPDATES:

8:20 a.m.: Updated with more details and background

First posted at 8:10 a.m.